How businesses can guard against the risk of security threats without breaking the bank.

The Lymow One lawnbot is designed to offer "sturdy, speedy, superior" mowing.

Working with a mentor is an excellent way to accelerate your career.The relationship can help you gain new skills and prepare you to take on that next big assignment. Finding a mentor and working productively with that person is a key to career success.I had some extraordinary mentors early in my career, and they accelerated my success in ways I couldnt have imagined. Now I enjoy helping up-and-coming professionals build their careers. Still, not every mentor-mentee relationship works.A mentor may not be right for the role, or a mentee may not pursue the relationship successfully.There are ground rules every mentee should practice if the relationship is to succeed. Here are five of the most important ones:1. CHOOSE AN APPROPRIATE MENTORObviously, the first step is choosing an appropriate mentor. To do this, youll need to decide on the skills or area where you want to progress and find someone who can give you that specific support.If you want to progress in a technical area, select a mentor who is known for their skills in that field. Or if you want to be a better communicator, choose someone with those skills. If you want to progress into a leadership role, find a mentor who is a recognized leader.Just make sure your desired skills are aligned with what the mentor can teach you. And choose someone whose track record impresses you. That way you can be sure youll want to learn from this person.2. MAKE YOUR GOALS CLEARSecond, when you approach a possible mentor, explain clearly why youve chosen that person and what your goals are. Prepare that pitch carefullyit will help define the relationship.I once heard about a young woman who was in her company cafeteria and saw a senior executive she wanted to have as her mentor. So, she walked up to that person and said, I want you to be my mentor. She hadnt prepared her script so when the senior woman asked why, the younger woman was speechless. That was the end of that.Always go prepared with a compelling script, one that shows exactly what you would like to learn and why you believe that senior person can teach you those skills. (For a deeper understanding of how to create a networking script, see my book, The Job Seekers Script.)3. FOLLOW THE MENTORS ADVICEI know that may seem obvious but from my experience, mentees dont always do this. Ignoring this guidance is a good way to discourage your mentor from helping you further.Your mentor may ask you to draw up a spreadsheet, develop an outline for a pitch, or rehearse your next presentation. View these assignments not as extra work, but as important steps in building your skills.I have always valued the advice Ive gotten from my bosses, and I did my best to follow it. A mentee should see a mentor as a guiding light, in the same way they might see a seasoned boss or manager.4. MEET YOUR MENTORS DEADLINESRemember, the person assisting you is going out of their way to provide this guidancerespect every deadline your mentor establishes. Its usually not part of their job description, and they receive no extra pay for the time theyre spending. Show that you take the relationship seriously and are respectful of their time by abiding the guidelines they specify.I know a mentor who set time frames for his mentee and she repeatedly missed deadlines, saying, Oh, I had outside commitments, or Sorry, I couldnt get to it. These missed deadlines led to the end of the relationship.Its important for a mentor to provide time frames, and its critical that the mentee follow these. As a mentor, Ive learned the importance of schedules. If you dont get such clarity about a due date, ask your mentor when theyd like it to be done. Or together decide on a due date. Assuming the deadline is realistic, meet it.5. SHOW GRATITUDEFinally, show gratitude to your mentor for the time and caring theyre putting into the relationship and the skills theyve helped you gain.Demonstrating your appreciation means saying thank you after each session. You might say, Thank you for taking the time to work with me today, or Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me. However you express it, gratitude is something every mentor will appreciate hearing.Remember that mentoring is an act of generosity. If you thank them warmly, they will be more apt to develop a lasting relationship with you and help you in the years ahead to build your career.

Servers say the chain forces them to do janitorial work and dishwashing for lower tipped wages, robbing them of up to $46.8 million.Melissa Kat Steach,a Waffle House server in Marietta, Georgia, keeps odd hours. She spends much of her day in her motel room off Interstate 75. Around 9 p.m, she walks 500 feet across a gas station parking lot and clocks into her shift. Working as a tipped cashier and server, Steach said she also does untipped work before her shift ends at 7 a.m: mopping floors, cleaning toilets, scrubbing pots and pans.The latter tasks, which Steach said take up to three hours per shift, are now the subject of a federal wage theft complaint. This fall, the Union of Southern Service Workers, a cross-sector affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor claiming that all those hours of untipped work constituted wage theft. Federal law allows employers to pay tipped workers less than regular minimum wage. (Disclosure: SEIU is a financial supporter of Capital & Main.)The complaint, still pending a decision from the Department of Labor, alleged that Waffle House restaurants save from $15.6 million to $46.8 million a year by having tipped workers perform untipped tasks without appropriate compensation.If successful, the complaint could signal to the many restaurants beyond Waffle Houses nearly 2,000 outlets that wage theft has consequences. The company runs roughly 0.27% of the countrys more than720,000restaurants.* * *Wage theftnot paying workers what theyre legally owedis a common practice. As of 2017, the most recent year for which data was readily available, workers lose $15 billion annually in minimum wage violations alone. From 2021 to 2024, the Department of Labor recovered more than $1 billion in back wages and damages for 615,000 employees in the U.S.Wage theft can happen to anyone. Its any time a worker is not paid the money for the labor that they do, said Margaret Poydock, a senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.Researchers have found that tipped workers, such as servers, are particularly vulnerable to wage theft. Federal data from the U.S. Department of Labor also showed that food service workers, whom industry research shows are disproportionately female and nonwhite, experience more wage violations than workers in other low-wage industries. The problem is particularly acute for Waffle House workers, according to a2024 reportfrom the Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions. Of 488 Waffle House workers surveyed, 90% reported experiencing at least one form of wage theft in the last year. Three-quarters said theyd been required to perform job tasks before clocking in or after clocking out within the last year. (Workers surveyed were self-selecting, responding to a social media advertisement to participate in the survey.)The Union of Southern Service Workers complaint to the Department of Labor also challenged a mandatory meal deduction of $3.15 per shift, even when servers dont eat.Waffle House declined repeated requests for comment.USSW members point, however, to one form of wage theft in particular: performing janitorial or kitchen work while being paid a tipped wage, which 58% of surveyed tipped workers reported to the Strategic Organizing Center. Waffle House stores typically operate with a skeleton crew of cooks, servers, and door greeters, said Dorothy Singletary, assistant general counsel at the SEIU. Stores dont even hire janitors or dishwashers, she said, and largely use servers to pick up the slack. Its a systemic issue, Singletary said.The wage difference is significant. While many states require higher wages than the federal minimum, Georgia, where Steach lives, does not. Tipped wages start at the federal minimum cash wage of$2.13 an hour. By comparison, the federal minimum wage is$7.25an hour; Georgias minimum wage is $5.15 an hour, with limited exceptions in which the federal wage applies. Across the entire company, the complaint argued, using tipped servers to do the standard-wage work of janitors and dishwashers saves Waffle House between $15.6 million and $46.8 million a year.A successful USSW complaint against Waffle House could have a ripple effect, the EPIs Poydock said. Research shows that when you impose penalties and you also name the employer, that kind of deters employers from committing violations of the law, she said.At the time of publication, neither the Department of Labor nor Waffle House had responded to the complaint.* * *The complaint camealmost 18 months into a USSWcampaignto pressure Waffle House to improve conditions ranging from workplace security to higher wages.The campaign has seen some success.In May, after a year of walkouts led by USSW supporters, Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers IIIannouncedcompanywide raises for the first time in more than 30 years. Even with Rogers promised boost of the tipped wage to a minimum of $3 an hour in effect, though, not much is easier for Steach.For a 69-hour workweek in September, Steachs pay stub showed 64 hours of tipped work ranging from $5.07 to $5.27 an hour, plus tips. In a five-day week, by Steachs estimates, that meant she spent up to 15 hours working without tips. (The same check also appeared to list five hours pay at $14.75/hour, presumably for cooking.) Data shows that the living wage for a single-person household in Cobb County, where Steach lives, is$26.55 an hour.For now, Steachs wages cover the $315 a week rent for her motel room, into which she moved after a stint of living on the street. The take-home pay for that September check was $328.01. Theres little left over. The trade off? I dont eat, she said.Steach said that she has asked to train formally as a cook several times, hoping to move into a better-paid job, but said that managers have told her they dont have the time to train her. Her next best option is to work double shifts when she can, doing more untipped work for tipped wages.Meanwhile, Steach is pushing for a change.Corporations cant keep throwing us around because we make all this money for them, she said. And what are they really doing with it? They are not supporting their workers. They cant keep screwing us around. Were here. Were worth it. Victoria Bouloubasis, Capital & MainThis piece was originally published by Capital & Main, which reports from California on economic, political, and social issues.

A sofa, a coffin and a stackable multipurpose cube are among the items that were displayed in Add Wood, an exhibition exploring the potential of recyclable and biodegradable 3D-printed timber.Designers Esme Willemsen, Janek Beau, Friedrich Gerlach and Julia Huhnholz created four separate projects using EconitWood, which is produced by German company Additive Tectonics.The material is made by combining leftover wood from sawmills and timber harvesting with a natural, non-toxic and flame-retardant magnesium carbonate binder, and its extrusion through 3D-printing allows for the creation of complex shapes without generating any waste.A coffin is among four prototypes created with EconitWoodWillemsen wanted to take advantage of the made-to-order nature of 3D printing with her design, a coffin called Finalform.stl. Her vision is that the design could be printed with adaptations for different bodies, while also incorporating personalised decoration at minimal extra cost.She also wanted to reduce the environmental impact of burials by eliminating the metal grips, screws and other non-timber elements that would be found in a typical coffin, and potentially by adapting the design to optimise decomposition within soils at different locations."Using 3D printing as the manufacturing method felt like a natural fit for this project," said Willemsen. "The flexibility of this process allows for adaptation to different body types and sizes, which is becoming increasingly important as larger-scale coffins grow in popularity."The 3D-printing process would allow for bespoke decoration"Traditional coffins the ones covered with paint or added metals or plastics can negatively impact the soil over time, so using a material that supports better decomposition and filtration felt like an important step forward," she continued."EconitWood also opens up possibilities for adapting the coffin's density and filtration properties to specific soil conditions, making the design even more responsive to environmental needs."Gerlach orientated towards making the most efficient use of the 3D-printing process in his design, the Lumo sofa. The sofa has an EconitWood shell that is stackable in production to maximise printer bed space.The Lumo sofa is entirely disassemblable and biodegradable, unlike typical sofas"I focused on one key characteristic of this 3D printer: it doesn't really matter if it's printing a single small object or an entire large block in one job both take roughly the same amount of time," said Gerlach. "Because of this, I decided to design an object that could be efficiently stacked within the printer's build volume, thereby increasing its overall printing efficiency.""This approach could make the process more attractive to companies, as improved efficiency helps lower production costs. I also wanted to demonstrate the printer's capacity, showing that it's possible to print large-scale furniture pieces without any issues."Read: Material Cultures transforms woodland waste into sustainable sheet materialsThe Lumo sofa is completed with a removable fabric suspended seat that attaches to a groove along the shell's edge, and since both the upholstery and filling are 100 per cent wool, the sofa in its entirety would eventually biodegrade if returned to the earth.Whereas many wood composite materials are made with a plastic binder, EconitWood's is a natural and non-toxic mineral binder that it says would dissolve in water after some years in the natural environment, and the untreated wood would rot away. However, the company's hope is that the products have a long life or be returned to the company for recycling.The Offset shelving unit makes a sculptural feature out of a shape that is efficient to 3D printHuhnholz also designed for optimum efficiency with her piece, a shelving unit titled Offset. The unit is made up of three smooth and sculptural EconitWood posts, which have a conical shape designed so that the segments can be nested within each other during production and more can be made in less time.To assemble the shelf the segments are simply stacked and completed with laser-cut aluminium plates."The Offset shelf was inspired by the idea of reinterpreting a traditionally wooden object using the unique properties of printed wood," said Huhnholz. "The assembly of wooden poles and aluminium boards relies solely on precise geometric interlocking. The material's textured surface required a few iterations to achieve the perfect fit."Sandbox is a multifunctional furniture systemBeau looked at effiency from a different angle with his Sandbox stool, which becomes a multifunctional and modular furniture solution if used in multiples, with two modules creating the height of a chair and three the height of a table.The modules can also be shipped without packaging as the dimensions have been optimised to comply with most shipping restrictions, with six modules fitting side by side on a pallet."I was particularly interested in exploring shapes that are typically avoided in wood production due to their complexity or inefficiency," said Beau. "My goal was to create a furniture piece that is easy to handle and can be shipped efficiently. This led me to research outdoor cases, which inspired the design of my object."The design is based on the look of outdoor casesWillemsen, Beau, Gerlach and Huhnholz exhibited their EconitWood designs at Designblok in Prague, Czech Republic in October 2024. The four designers had been Designblok Diploma Selection winners in 2023, giving them the opportunity to exhibit at the 2024 event.Instead of doing solo exhibits, the quartet banded together and approached Additive Tectonics about a collaboration using EconitWood. Their exhibition, Add Wood: Perspectives on Printable Timber, won the 2024 Designblok Award for Best Designer Presentation.Other experiments with 3D-printed wood have included the Warp teahouse pavilion, which was made from shaped tiles by architects Kei Atsumi and Motoya Iizawa.Designblok took place from 2 to 6 October 2024. See Dezeen Events Guidefor an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.The post Product designs explore sustainable potential of 3D-printable wood appeared first on Dezeen.

Automotive brand Nissan is presenting its R32EV concept model at this week's Tokyo Auto Salon an electrified iteration of its popular R32 Skyline GT-R sports carknown as Godzilla.The original R32 Skyline GT-R was created in 1989 and became a staple at racing events thanks to its 2.6-litre twin-turbocharged engine and all-wheel drive technology.Now, Japanese automaker Nissan has reimagined the car with an electric motor as part of the R32EV concept, which will be unveiled at the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon automotive show.Read: Eight retro electric cars that are informed by motoring heritageThe project was initiated in March 2023 and completed by a dedicated team of volunteer engineers, according to the brand.Nissan has not yet disclosed details on R32EV's technology or performance but a teaser image shows the electric car maintaining its nostalgic angular 1980s look while adding a charging socket."This initiative aims to capture and recreate the charm of the BNR32 by integrating modern electrification," said Nissan.The electric R32EV concept (top image) is based on Nissan's R32 Skyline GT-R (above)The 1989 R32 Skyline GT-R was the third generation of Nissan's Skyline GT-R sports car, first developed between 1969 and 1972. The 1989 model was nicknamed Godzilla for its consistent motorsport success, nodding to the fictional Japanese monster.Nissan will unveil the modernised R32EV alongside a slate of recent vehicles during Tokyo Auto Salon, which kicks off this Friday.The project follows a slew of launches that have seen classic cars transformed into electric vehicles in recent years, such as BMW's MINI Cooper SE and Ford's F-100 Eluminator.Read: Nissan's Kicks 327 looks like a giant drivable trainerOther carmakers have taken a more disruptive approach. Chief among them is Jaguar, which caused a stir with its Type 00 car concept at the end of last year.Designed to break with electric vehicle conventions, the concept was unveiled to mixed reviews following a controversial rebrand that marked Jaguar's move to electric-only cars.The top image is courtesy of Nissan and above by Tennen-Gas via Wikimedia Commons.Tokyo Auto Salon takes place at Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Japan, from 10 to 12 January 2025. See Dezeen Events Guidefor an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.The post Nissan unveils electric version of 1980s Skyline GT-R sports car appeared first on Dezeen.

Designer and curator Kirsten Visdal has filled a former smoking room at the Muse d'Orsay in Paris with Norwegian furniture, objects and sculptures.For three days only, Visdal transformed Le Fumoir a room that is normally closed to the public into a showcase of Norwegian artists, designers and brands.The exhibition, Et Hjem/Chez Soi,featured work by contemporary designers including Ali Shah Gallefoss and Andreas Engesvik, as well as classics by the likes of Terje Ekstrm and Hans Brattrud.Furniture from brands including Northern and Fjordfiesta featured in the exhibitionThe project was led by Design and Architecture Norway (DOGA), the Oslo-based design organisation and gallery that is known for staging the Norwegian Presence exhibitions in Milan.According to Cecilie Molvr Jrgensen of DOGA, the aim was to highlight the distinct qualities of Norwegian design, in contrast with other Nordic countries."This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase Norwegian design in a brand new way and to create something unexpected," she told Dezeen.The former smoking room features ornate wood panelling and a large Persian rug"Normally Norwegian design is put in the same category as Scandinavian design blond wood, white, minimalistic, functionalistic but Le Fumoir gave us the opportunity to show it is so much more than that," she continued."It can be eclectic, playful, colourful, soft, curvy and maximalistic."A sand-casted table by Ali Shah Gallefoss sits alongside Vestre'ssteel Munch chairsLe Fumoir was originally part of a hotel in the former Gare d'Orsay railway station, which occupied the building in the early 20th century before it was converted into a museum.Visdal created playful contrasts with the room's elaborate decor, which includes ornate wooden wall panelling, heavy curtains, patterned red wallpaper and a large patterned Persian rug.Read: Signe Hytte designs home of a poet for Enter the Salon showIn one arrangement, a sand-casted aluminium table by Gallefoss sits alongside the gridded steel Munch chairs by designers Andreas Engesvik and Jonas Stokke, which are produced by Vestre.Behind it, a classic sideboard displayed experimental ceramics by artist Eyvind Solli and aluminium lamps from manufacturer Hydro.Ment's porcelain dishes were displayed on a dining table behind the 1980s Ekstrem chairIn front of the original fireplace, the Gem sofa from contemporary furniture brand Northern sits alongside Brattrud's 1960s Scandia chairs, produced by heritage brand Fjordfiesta.Other highlights include Ekstrm's curvy 1980s Ekstrem chair, produced by Varier, which sits in front of a dining table topped with porcelain dishes from manufacturer Ment.Other exhibitors included reclining chair producer Stressless and textile company Fram Oslo"We wanted to create unexpected combinations and show that Norwegian design is a varied mix of classic mid-century and contemporary," said Jrgensen."The contrast between the understated elegance of Nordic craftsmanship and the grandeur of this iconic museum creates a unique dialogue, showcasing how simplicity can speak volumes in the most remarkable of settings," added Visdal.A sofa by new brand Matre featured alongside an aluminium shelving unit by HydroThe exhibition also included pieces by Matre, a new Norwegian brand that launched in 2024.Other exhibitors included reclining chair producer Stressless, doormat brand Heymat, textile company Fram Oslo and workplace furniture manufacturer Flokk.Ceramics by artist Eyvind Solli were displayed on the fireplaceThe colour palette combined shades of red, burgundy, pink and muted browns."The red palette was influenced by the room itself," said Jrgensen."We mixed burgundy and pink with plums and berries, and finally that fire hydrant-red in the Munch chairs. And of course, a little bit of blond wood to serve as accents rather than the base."The photography is by Studio Dreyer+Hensley.Et Hjem/Chez Soi ran from 22 to 24 November at Muse d'Orsay, Paris. See Dezeen Events Guidefor more architecture and design events around the world.The post Kirsten Visdal explores the maximalist side of Norwegian design at Muse d'Orsay appeared first on Dezeen.

If you want a taste of what tech to expect in the new year, theres no better place to be at than CES. The problem, however, is that CES is massive, and is spread across three large venues. Covering any ground at CES is a major task, which is why events like CES Unveiled are perfect grounds for exploring everything new that the tech world has to offer. CES Unveiled is much smaller than the main event, and gets held usually a day earlier. This is where tech brands and winners of CES awards come to showcase their stuff in a smaller venue before the big show.We attended CES Unveiled 2025 and while the show was filled with a lot of interesting (and some slightly stale) tech, three things stood out. AI could be found practically in every single corner of Unveiled; Robots are becoming more useful and more prevalent thank to AI; Smart Glasses are also picking up speed thanks to LLMs and AI; and finally, it seems like ages ago that I saw a TV at CES Unveiled because projectors are becoming more and more popular.AI is EverywhereSkyTed.io HeadsetWere definitely in an AI bubble because youll find AI features everywhere. Sure, AI translators and image recognition is a pretty good way to use AI but were now seeing AI built into products that probably didnt need it to begin with. LLMs are becoming increasingly popular as a trend as well as a feature, being found in all products from earbuds to massive robots. Its difficult to tell whether the AI bubble will burst any time soon, but heres something worth thinking about AI is expensive, and companies will probably either A. Pass that expense onto the consumer, or B. Absorb the expense and make up the losses by harvesting data. However, there are areas where AIs actually pretty impressive, like SkyTeds headset, which uses a very powerful dual-direction microphone and AI noise-reduction to let you effectively whisper in a crowded room and have your voice seamlessly heard clearly on the other side.Robots arent going anywhereEnchanted Tools RobotI have a theory. Ive attended CES in both Vegas as well as CES Asia in Shanghai, and the main difference between them is the presence of robots. Americans are traditionally very hostile to robots because of pop culture demonizing them, like with Terminator, Transformers, etc. The east, on the other hand, has always seen robots as fun companions or superheroes, and its taken decades for the two cultures to come to a consensus That robots are useful. Potentially scary, but useful. CES Unveiled had its fair share of robots some utilitarian, some cute. These robots have been around for ages, but theyre now powered by AI that helps them be more human by interacting with natural language as well as contextual memory.Meta may have revived the Smart Glass trendMustard Smart GlassesIn all honesty, wearing the Meta Ray-Bans 2 to CES was an absolute godsend but wearing it around exhibitors exhibiting similar glasses was a unique experience. Most people recognized that my specs had cameras in them, but what was truly interesting was to see such ubiquitous tech around. Smart glasses became more and more popular this CES, with specs like heads-up displays, XR displays, and even AI-enabled world-scanning. Google launched the Google Glass back in 2013, and its safe to say that its taken nearly 12 years for the technology to truly become something ready for mass acceptance. Smart glasses are here, an theyre thinner and more powerful than ever before.This Years Hot Take: Projectors > TelevisionsAurzen Tri-Fold ProjectorProjectors are now at a point where theyre cheap, which honestly was the last frontier that they needed to conquer in their war with televisions. TVs have been the home entertainment standard for too long and I totally think its time they were replaced with projectors. Even a budget projector can cast a screen hundreds of inches wide, turning your entire wall into a display. Projectors are smaller than TVs too, which means you can carry them around from one room to another, or even to a backyard or your friends house. We saw some pretty cool projectors including an ultra-short throw one from JMGO, and a palm-sized tri-fold one from Aurzen. My favorite, however, was a projector that could project make-up onto your face in real-time, allowing you to quickly cycle through looks.CES officially begins on January 7th 2025, and were going to bring you the latest tech news from the ground. If you want to attend CES 2025, heres how you can. Or follow Yanko Designs CES coverage for more information.The post AI, Robots, Smart Glasses and Projectors steal the show at CES Unveiled 2025 first appeared on Yanko Design.

Computational models of complex systems will transform how we approach everything from urban design to healthcare

From groovy fonts to spaced-out vibes, we explore the iconic typefaces that defined the 1970s.